Wedge heel shoe



w, 1950 c. A. CRAM WEDGE HEEL SHOE Filed D60. 11, 1947 INVENLE OR.

(hwmwzm KJWMWm T K Patented May 30, 1950 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFHC Claims.

My present invention relates to wedge heel shoes.

It is an object of my present invention to provide shoes with wedge heels of adjustable height.

A further object of my present invention consists of a wedge heel construction which enables variation of the height of the heel in a simple and easy manner.

Another object of my present invention consists in wedge heels constructed so that despite their adjustability in height, their outer appearance is the same as the appearance of normal wedge heels.

With the above objects in view my present invention mainly consists of a wedge heel shoe comprising in combination a shoe upper including a flexible inner sole, a substantially flat flexible outer sole, means securing said substantially flat flexible outer sole at its front part to said shoe upper and said flexible inner sole, an elastic heel cover enclosing the space of the wedge heel of said shoe and secured along its bottom edge to the corresponding edge portion of the rear half of said outer sole and at its upper edge to the corresponding edge portion of the rear half of said shoe upper and said inner sole, an opening in said elastic heel cover, closure means for closing said opening, and at least one wedge heel member adapted to be introduced through said opening into said wedge heel cover so as to form said wedge heel of said shoe.

A heel construction of this type includes preferably separate means for firmly securing the elastic heel cover along its upper edge to the corresponding edge portion of the rear half of the above mentioned shoe upper and the inner sole, and separate means firmly securing this heel cover along its bottom edge to the corresponding edge portion of the rear half of the above mentioned substantially flat flexible outer sole.

The opening formed in this elastic heel cover has preferably the shape of a slot and for closing this slot, I prefer to use slidable clasp fastening means of known type.

It is possible to provide in combination with a wedge heel construction of the above type a set of different wedge heels each of which is of a different height, In this case only one wedge heel member, namely, the one having the desired height, is inserted into the elastic heel cover.

It is, of course, also possible to have a plurality of cooperating wedge heel members adapted to be superimposed upon each other and to be introduced in superimposed position into the wedge heel cover described above. In this case the height of the heel is varied by varying the number of superimposed heel members.

As set forth above it is of great advantage to make the heel cover of a highly elastic and stretchable sheet material so as to enable this heel cover not only to adapt itself to the differently shaped wedge heel members, but also to firmly hold these members between the inner and outer soles, preventing sliding of the same.

The novel features which I consider :as characteristic for my invention are set forth in particular in the appended claims. The invention itself, however, both as to its construction and its method of operation, together with additional objects and advantages thereof, will be best understood from the following description of specific embodiments when read in connection with the accompanying drawings, in which:

Fig. 1 is a side view of a Wedge shoe according to my present invention with an adjustable wedge heel in closed position;

Fig. 2 is a side view of the shoe shown in Fig. 1 with the slot of the wedge heel in open position;

Fig. 3 is a longitudinal section through the shoe construction shown in Fig. 1 with three superimposed wedge heel members;

Fig. 4 is a partial longitudinal section through the shoe shown in Fig. 3 with one of the wedges removed; and

Fig. 5 is a partial longitudinal section through the shoe construction shown in Fig. 3 with two of the wedges removed.

The wedge shoe construction shown in the drawings include a shoe upper in of conventional type, a highly flexible inner sole l I secured along its edge to the shoe upper i0 and a substantially flat flexible outer sole 12 secured at its front part by sewing or the like to the front portion of the edge of the inner sole II and the shoe upper Ill.

The space between the rear portion of the inner sole II and the rear portion of the outer sole I2 is enclosed by the highly elastic heel cover it made of a stretchable sheet material.

This heel cover 13 is secured along its upper edge by sewing or like means to the corresponding edge portion of the inner sole i i and the shoe upper l0.

A slot I4 is formed between the bottom edge l5 of the elastic heel cover I3 and the corresponding edge portion 46 of the rear part of the outer sole l2.

In order to be able to close this slot I4 I provide two slidable clasp fastener strips I1 and It. The fastener strip I! is secured to the elastic heel cover l3 along the bottom edge It thereof, and

the fastener strip I8 is secured to the outer sole I 2 along the edge portion l6 thereof.

The closure member [9 engaging the two fastener strips H and I8 serves for securing the two strips to each other, thereby closing the slot in well known manner.

In Fig. 2 I show the heel construction in open position ready for introduction of the wedge heel members 20, 2| and 22 shown in Fig. 3. These wedge heel members 2%, 2| and 22 are introduced by pushing them into the elastic heel cover i3 until they are located within this cover as shown in Fig. 3. The thus inserted wedge heel members, Zll, 2| and 22 are arranged one above the other, completely filling the heel cover 53, and stretching the elastic sheet material of which it is made.

I wish to note that in order to prevent sliding of the heel members 2!), 2i and 22 relative to the shoe soles i i and i 2 during use of the shoe I prcvide, at the rear edge of the inner sole i a downwardly extending projection 23 fitting into a corresponding recess 24 at the rear top edge of the wedge heel member 22. Similarly I provide at the rear bottom edge of the wedge heel member 22 a projection 25 fitting into a corresponding recess 26 at the rear top edge of the wedge heel member 2!. I also provide at the rear bottom edge of the wedge heel member 29 a projection 21 fitting into a corresponding recess 28 at the rear top edge of the wedge heel member 28.

This projection-recess arrangement prevents slipping of the wedge heel members in rearward direction.

If it is desired to use a wedge heel shoe of the type shown in Fig. 3 but having a heel of lower height, it is only necessary to remove the uppermost wedge heel member 22 as shown in Fig. 4., thereby obtaining a wedge heel of medium height.

In order to further reduce the height it is possible to remove the two heel members 2! and 22 and to use only one, namely, the bottom heel member 28, as shown in Fig. 5.

I wish to note that despite removal of one or two of the heel members, the elastic heel cover l3 will always remain stretched and smooth. This is due to its elasticity which constitutes an important characteristic feature of my present invention.

The term elastic, as used above and in the following claims, is intended to define that the heel cover is made of such sheet material which after suffering elastic deformation returns to its original form which it had before such elastic deformation.

It will be understood that each of the elements described above, or two or more together, may also find a useful ap lication in other types of shoe construction differing from the types described above.

While I have illustrated and described the invention as embodied in wedge shoe construction, I do not intend to be limited to the details shown, since various modifications and structural changes may be made without departing in any way from the spirit of my invention.

Without further analysis, the foregoing will so fully reveal the gist of my invention that others can by applying current knowledge readily adapt it for various applications without omitting features that, from the standpoint of prior art, fairly constitute essential characteristics of the generic or specific aspects of this invention, and, therefore, such adaptations should and are intended to be comprehended within the meaning and range of equivalence of the following claims.

What I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent is:

1. A wedge heel shoe comprising in combination a shoe upper including a flexible inner sole; a substantially flat flexible outer sole; means securing said outer sole at its front part to said shoe upper and said inner sole; and elastic heel cover enclosing the space of the wedge heel of said shoe so as to form a heel chamberextending from the rear half of said inner sole to the, rear half of said outer sole; an opening in said heel chamber; and closure means for closing said opening; said cover being adapted to enclose a plurality of cooperating wedge heel members superimposed upon each other and which are capable of being introduced through said opening in said cover so as to form said wedge of said shoe.

2. A wedge heel shoe comprising in combination a shoe upper including a flexible inner sole; a substantially fiat flexible outer solej means securing said substantially flat flexible outer sole at its front part to said shoe upper and said flexible inner sole; an elastic heel cover enclosing the space of the wedge heel of said shoe; means firmly securing said elastic wedge heel cover along its bottom edge to the corresponding edge portion of the rear half of said substantially flat flexible outer sole; means firmly securing said elastic heel cover along its upper edge to the corresponding edge portion of the rear half of said shoe upper and said inner sole; a slot in said elastic heel cover; slidable clasp fastener means for closing said slot; and a plurality of cooperating wedge heel members adapted to be superimposed upon each other and to be introduced through said slot into said wedge heel cover and to be enclosed therein by closing of said slidable clasp fastener means so as to form said wedge heel of said wedge heel shoe. 7

3. A wedge heel shoe comprising in combination a shoe upper including a flexible inner sole; a substantially flat flexible outer sole; means securing said substantially flat flexible outer sole at its front part to said shoe upper and said flexible inner sole; an elastic heel cover enclosing the space of the Wedge heel of said shoe and secured along its upper edge to the corresponding edge portion of the rear half of said shoe upper and said inner sole so as to form along its bottom edge a slot between itself and said outer sole; closure means for closing said opening; and a plurality of cooperating wedge heel members adapted to be superimposed upon each other and to be introduced through said opening into said wedge heel cover so as to form' said wedge heel of said shoe.

4. A wedge heel shoe comprising in combination a shoe upper including a flexible inner sole; a substantially flat flexible outer sole; means se curing said substantially flat flexible outer sole at its front part to said shoe upper and said flexible inner sole; an elastic wedge shaped heel cover made of a highly stretchable sheet material and enclosing the space of the wedge heelof said shoe; means firmly securing said elastic wedge heel cover along its bottom edge to the 'corre sponding edge portion of the rear half of said substantially flat flexible outer sole; means firmly securing said elastic heel cover along its upper edge to the corresponding edge portion of the rear half of said shoe upper and said inner sole; 9. slot in said elastic heel cover; closure means for closing said slot; and at least one wedge heel member adapted to be introduced through said slot into said wedge heel cover and to be enclosed within the same by closing of said closure means so as to form said wedge heel of said wedge heel shoe.

5. A wedge heel shoe comprising in combination a shoe upper including a flexible inner sole; a substantially flat flexible outer sole; means securing said substantially flat flexible outer sole at its front part to said shoe upper and said flexible inner sole; an elastic wedge shaped heel cover made of a highly stretchable sheet material and enclosing the space of the wedge heel of said shoe and secured along its upper edge to the corresponding edge portion of the rear half of said shoe upper and said inner sole so as to form along its bottom edge a slot between itself and said outer sole; two slidable clasp fastener strips one of which is secured to said bottom edge of said elastic heel cover extending along the same and the other of which is secured to the corresponding edge portion of the rear half of said substantially flat flexible outer sole so as to be adapted to close said slot formed between said elastic wedge heel cover and said substantially flat flexible outer sole; and a plurality of cooperating wedge heel members adapted to be superimposed upon each other and to be introduced through said slot into said wedge heel cover and to be enclosed therein by closing of said slidable clasp fastener means so as to form said wedge heel of said wedge heel shoe.

CHARLOTTE A. CRAMER.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 20 2,150,385 Maling Mar. 14, 1939 2,156,532 Greider May 2, 1939 2,205,091 Geffner June 18, 1940 

